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In a few days, I’ll teach a seminar session on viral and non-viral genres with my colleague and friend Jana Pflaeging at Zagreb University. We’ll compare the genres “ListSite” (Jana published on it in 10plus1) and “Personal Weblog” on several layers. I’m very much looking forward to it – even though it’ll be quite stressful. We’ll take the nightbus from Munich on Monday, teach the seminar on Tuesday morning, and then return at 11pm to Munich by nightbus 🙂

The first issue of the eJournal 10plus1: Living Linguistics was published a couple of (busy) weeks ago. This journal is the “baby” of my colleague-friend Jana Pflaeging and me. We had been working on it since late 2014, designing the concept, building an editorial board, web design, and so many more tasks that we wouldn’t have dreamt of. The first issue assembles lots of very interesting contributions under the title “Media Linguistics”. The work for the next issue “Contact Linguistics” (guest-edited by Marion Schulte, Bielefeld) has already started. But for now, I am just very happy (and grateful) to have fulfilled this dream together with Jana. Cheers, 10plus1!

This is a quick update to the previous post in which I announced that I had won the second prize in the Stifterverband’s essay competition “Bildung heute – Bildungsideal einer digitalen Zeit”. The essays (1st, 2nd, 3rd) are now available online as audio reading and as pdf file (here’s mine).

After having the pleasure of listening to Maria reading her winning essay, I can only recommend her text. I have seldom come across a text with such depth, clarity and elegance at the same time. Congratulations!

This post is written by Brian Flemming, a mathematician working as a Systems Engineer in Edinburgh. He has recently completed an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) as a mature student at Heriot Watt University, which he found an intensive and enjoyable experience, and which he credits with greatly increasing the effectiveness and authority of his work. He is now appreciating the freedom to continue studying and spend time away on the hills, without the associated “PhD-guilt” of neglecting the books …

When Brian sent me this post I could instantly relate. In fact, this blog is the outcome of my own PhD blues where I needed something meaningful, creative and interesting back in my life. I know many people who have finished and express similar sentiments. Here are Brian’s thoughts.

One of the posts that caught my eye recently commented on the career prospects for the newly-qualified PhD, especially outside academia. …

At the end of 2014, I participated in a competition which was launched by the Stifterverband Deutsche Wissenschaft, the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung and the initiative Was bildet Ihr uns ein?. Participants were asked to write an essay on the Bildungsideal in the digital age. My text approaches the issue in a creative way, using the setting of a well-known German fairy-tale for the compilation of a whole wishlist of aspects this educational ideal should comprise. The essay was awarded the second prize, which means that I’m invited to present it in Berlin on 2nd February this year – how exciting! The first 12 essays of roughly 90 submissions will be published on- and offline. I will provide a link here as soon as possible.

After I finished my PhD-thesis “Textsorten im Internet zwischen Wandel und Konstanz: Eine diachrone Untersuchung der Textsorte Personal Weblog” in June 2014, I immediately published it as open access version. For various reasons, I wrote my PhD in German. One of my first thoughts after publishing it was to turn it into a “proper” book – in English, this time (by “proper book” I mean, for instance, reducing the length from 450 to roughly 200 pages and cutting away typical dissertation rhetorics, orienting not towards examiners but an interested semi-expert audience). The working title is “The Personal Weblog: A Linguistic History”. So far, I have finished a chapter on genre theory (including genre change) and one of the two concluding chapters.

An additional motivation for continuing with this project comes from Peter Lang Verlag: My PhD and the planned English book based on it were awarded the Peter Lang Nachwuchspreis, which includes the coverage of all publication costs for a print and an ebook edition. The award came quite as a surprise but I am really grateful for the opportunity and the additional motivation it offers for my book project!